New car reviews

2016 Acura ILX

Acura ILX compact luxury sedan reworked with powerful engine

Bob Plunkett, Sun, 06 Dec 2015 02:13:34 PST

PERRYVILLE, Ark. -- For this goose-bumpy romp we snag a 2016 ILX compact 4-door luxury sedan by Acura, the line of performance and luxury vehicles derived from Honda of Japan, and send it over state route 60, a corkscrew stretch of asphalt coursing over rumpled furrows of the Ouachita Mountains in western Arkansas.

It's the ideal venue to show off the taut suspension tuning and sporty handling characteristics of the refreshed, refitted and reworked compact-class sedan for Acura. The 2016 editions of ILX score a welcomed injection of pedal power from a new high-performance engine, then receive a suspension re-tune to boost handling, plus fancy fittings for the luxe passenger compartment.

Cast on a rigid chassis with a 4-cylinder engine directing all torque to the two front wheels which also steer, ILX stocks all of the hardware components to make a responsive sports sedan.

Apply a tape measure to the ILX and the numbers reveal a package size fitting in the compact class with a wheelbase of 105.1 inches and wheel track width of 59.4 inches front and 60.2 inches rear, the car body stretching to 181.9 inches long, a body width of 70.6 inches and the roofline rising to 55.6 inches.

Sharp exterior lines mark the 2016 editions of ILX. Note the ultra-fast windshield rake, curt overhangs front and rear, and minimal gaps between tires and fenders. Wheels are positioned near corners of a rectangular body for a sporty posture, and there's a low hood line to enhance forward visibility for the driver, a front fascia with integrated foglamps and squinty jewel-like squared LED lamps on front corners of a pointed prow crowned by Acura's pentagonal grille in silver paint.

Shapely flanks break for round wheelwells as side doors blend into the panels due to black roof pillars which disguise the 4-door format and make it look like a coupe.

All trim versions get an independent suspension system consisting of front MacPherson struts and rear multi-link.